Suzuki Jimny Crash Safety Ratings

Is your Suzuki Jimny safe enough for your baby?

That depends if it is a used or new car, and what safety features a car has to influence the car crash ratings.

Used Suzuki Crash Safety Ratings

The Monash University Accident Research Centre analysed crash
statistics, from over 3 million vehicles, in police-reported road
crashes in New Zealand and Australia, between 1996 and 2014 involving
199 different vehicle types.

The Used Car Safety Ratings (UCSR) reflect the overall car crash safety
performance, so in order to score well the car had to protect both the
occupants of the car as well as minimal injury to other drivers, pedestrians, cyclists - basically everyone involved in the crash.

The
data is published as part of a used car buying guide (Used Car Safety
Ratings (UCSR) Buyer's Guide) to help people decide on their
options.

When we first looked at the results in the 2010 analysis, we saw that the small 4WD Suzuki
Samurai, Sierra, SJ410 and SJ413 models built between 1982-1999 scored
Very Poor in the Crash Safety Ratings.

This may indicate that a Suzuki Jimny second hand could also score poorly.

The Suzuki Vitara and Escudo models built between 1988-1998 also scored
Very Poor.

Unfortunately, 5 years later, nothing has changed! See the picture below.

For further details on more Suzuki 4WD and other brand ratings in the UCSR car buying guide, go to
How Safe Is Your Car.

What features help improve safety ratings?

It's suggested that the following features will help a car avoid a crash:

Electronic Stability Control (ESC)

Anti-lock Brake System (ABS)

Traction Control

Brake Assist

And the following features will reduce injury and death:

crumple zones

collapsible steering wheels

reinforced door frames

front, side and curtain airbags

seatbelts designed to work with airbags

Is your NEW Suzuki Jimny safe enough for your baby?

Of course, a new car is generally safer than a used car (largely due to
the additions of safety features, according to the UCSR car buying
guide).The new Jimny-Sierra has front airbags, side impact protection beams and ABS as standard. Suzuki also states that the new Jimny has crumple zones with a high strength steel frame to disperse the impact away from the cabin.

The Japanese New Car Assessment Program (JNCAP) has the only lab-controlled crash test data for the Jimny (2005 model).

View the frontal collision:

View the offset frontal collision:

View the side impact collision:

The safety ratings from the
JANCAP Suzuki Jimny test
were 5 out of 6 stars for safety during the collision for the drivers
seat, and 6 out of 6 stars for the front passenger seat. Rear seats
were not tested.

Pedestrian head protection on the bonnet of the Jimny was rated only 1 star out of 5!

So what is the moral of the story?

Well, if you compare the results from the JNCAP tests to the UCSR, a new Jimny is safer than an old one.
However, note that there is no recent positive safety information about
the Jimny, and there is no information about more recent models.

So is a new Jimny the safest car you can afford? As with any purchase, buyer beware!